What is the series (SF or Fantasy) that you have become an unabashed fan of?

[E.M.]

Without a doubt David Eddings Belgariad, Mallorean, and Elenium series. I love his characters and the epic feel of the story.

[Madelyn]

I've always been a fan of mythology and folklore, so i like anything based on that. I'm gonna say I'm an unabashed fan of Rick Riordan's The Kane Chronicles, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and Heroes of Olympus series.

I'm 28 years old, and absolutely not ashamed of reading kids' books.

[Janine]

I'll second the Vorkosigan series mentioned above. And also say that I go crazy for any books in R.M. Meluch's Tour of the Merrimack series (first book: The Myriad).

For political fantasy, the Wolfblade trilogy is marvelous. (There are a number of other books in this universe, but this particular arc stands out to me.)

[John (Taloni)]

Madelyn, seconding on the Rick Riordan stuff. The second series couldn't quite live up to the first, but still well worth the read.

Have you read any Thor comics? Besides being generally pretty good, there are definite high points. Of recent stuff Straczynski's first twelve or so issues are good. The Celestial Saga, good for old school and Kirby nostalgia. But for my money, Walt Simonson's Surtur Saga owns the genre. The introduction of Beta Ray Bill...Thor, Odin and a surprising helper against Surtur...the descent into Hel...Skurge's sacrifice...wonderful stuff. Starlin is a master.

[Joanna Chaplin]

Madelyn wrote: "I've always been a fan of mythology and folklore, so i like anything based on that. I'm gonna say I'm an unabashed fan of Rick Riordan's The Kane Chronicles, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, and H..."

I actually just thundered through Tamora Pierce's series all set in the same world, Emelan. https://www.goodreads.com/series/43551 I think the word is middlegrade, meant for kids and later in the series, more for teens. The prose was a little simpler, but it was not condescending.

[Marion]

From reading the most recent posts, I will have to try a Discworld book. I've seen a lot of people recommend this series. What is the best book to start in that series?

Marion

[Marion]

Kenneth wrote: "Marion wrote: "Kenneth wrote: "
Nearly everything this guy does is 5-star worthy, and I am not a 5-star review giver. I rave about him far too much.

Biggest reason? ..."
Kenneth,

Here's my review of Pirate Freedom by Gene Wolfe:

https://kammbia1.wordpress.com/2013/0...

Marion

[Brendan]

Marion wrote: "From reading the most recent posts, I will have to try a Discworld book. I've seen a lot of people recommend this series. What is the best book to start in that series?

Marion"

Everyone will probably give you a different answer, but I would choose Mort. Other good starting options are Wyrd Sisters if you're into Shakespeare and fables, or Guards! Guards! if you're into detective type novels.

[Marion]

Brendan wrote: "Marion wrote: "From reading the most recent posts, I will have to try a Discworld book. I've seen a lot of people recommend this series. What is the best book to start in that series?

Marion"

E..."

Thanks Brendan!

[Tassie Dave, S&L Historian]

I had never heard of Brian McClellan before we read "Promise of Blood".

I read Book 2 and am now reading Book 3 "Autumn Republic".

I also have read all the Powder Mage Novellas. So yes I am a fan.

[Sky]

Tassie Dave wrote: "I had never heard of Brian McClellan before we read "Promise of Blood".

I read Book 2 and am now reading Book 3 "Autumn Republic".

I also have read all the Powder Mage Novellas. So yes I am a fan."

Same here... TAR was awesome! Granted, PoB was his first book, so it's not too bad you never heard of him :)

In the same boat with McClellan for me is Anthony Ryan and his Raven Shadow series (Blood Song + Tower Lord)

[Joanna Chaplin]

Marion wrote: "From reading the most recent posts, I will have to try a Discworld book. I've seen a lot of people recommend this series. What is the best book to start in that series?"

Here's a wonderful visual guide to help you figure out where the various books in that series are in relation to each other. I would say to start at any of the left-hand books. http://imgur.com/r/discworld/qHa8Zf5
Older stuff is more straight-up fantasy, newer stuff is a little more message-ey. I think all of it is great. But if you try one and don't care for the characters, consider picking up one of the other threads and trying that instead.

[Kardo]

I've never really started to consider Discworld series because there seems to be too many books to catch up.
What I can't wait for are next volumes of Dresden series and Iron Druid chronicles. And Song of Ice and Fire too for certain. Also maybe Sandman Slim series and I think Gentleman Bastard might count as series.

[Tim]

I used to be an unabashed Pratchett fan, particularly in his early and middle periods (all the hardbacks, mostly signed...). But lately he seems to have gone off the boil. I realise his illness must be partly to blame, and kudos for keeping going, but I don't get anything like the enjoyment from his newer stuff as I did before.

Currently I'm a big fan of Ben Aaronovitch's Rivers of London series (don't like the US title!). If you have an Audible sub, look for Kobna Holdbrook-Smith's narration. He has it down to an absolute tee, London accents, different voices and everything.

My other vice at the mo is Jim Butcher's Dresden Files series (I'm about to start the (current) latest - Skin Game, book 15 as soon as my next Audible credit kicks in. These are narrated, mostly, by James Marsters (of Buffy fame), who does a pretty decent job, although there are one or two vocal tics (saying shown instead of shone for example) that can throw you.

[Joanna Chaplin]

Tim wrote: "...there are one or two vocal tics (saying shown instead of shone for example) that can throw you"

Er, the way I say them, "shown" and "shone" sound the same. You mean "shone" like the past tense of "shine", right? For me, same sounds. I've never heard it differently.

[Kat]

I'm a huge fan of the Sword of Shadows by J.V. Jones, but I've been waiting AGES for her to finish it.

[Ken]

Marion, I think your Pirate Freedom review is fair. It's definitely not Wolfe's most complex work. There is a twist to the seemingly linear narrative though, involving a bit of accidental time travel that's never explicitly laid out.

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

Joanna wrote: "Tim wrote: "...there are one or two vocal tics (saying shown instead of shone for example) that can throw you"

Er, the way I say them, "shown" and "shone" sound the same."

Tim is a Brit, I notice, because I had the exact same reaction. In spite of the huge amount of American TV and films I watch, even though I have a number of American friends and have, once or twice, been mistaken for an American by my fellow Brits (to my deep mortification), it had somehow entirely escaped my notice until I listened to the Dresden audio books that you guys pronounce that word that way. In England, 'shone' rhymes with 'on', 'gone' and 'one'. It sounds a little odd to hear it pronounced otherwise, but, yeah, not a mistake by Marsden, just an accent thing.

[Mark]

Kat wrote: "I'm a huge fan of the Sword of Shadows by J.V. Jones, but I've been waiting AGES for her to finish it."

Yeah ... I'm beginning to wonder if she'll ever finish it ...

[Brendan]

"In England, 'shone' rhymes with 'on', 'gone' and 'one'."

Ha, in Canada 'shone' rhymes with 'on' and 'gone' but NOT with 'one', which we pronounce differently. Fascinating stuff. Also obligatory observation that even within these countries regional differences apply so this may not be true for everyone.

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

Well, gosh darn it, now I need to know how you pronounce 'one' in Canada!

[John (Taloni)]

I just want to know what it's all aboot! :)

[jamako]

I'm nuts for the Dresden Files by Jim Butcher. Same goes for A Song of Ice and Fire, even though it gets hard to stay excited with all those years between the books and the TV show starting to spoiler certain things.

Also I just read The Blue Blazes, which is the first Book in Chuck Wendig's Mookie Pearl Series. I'm hoping the Series will continue in this fashion, Dresden needs some competition.

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

John (Taloni) wrote: "I just want to know what it's all aboot! :)"

I'm not so familiar with the Canadian accent, but whenever I hear this impression, it always sounds Scottish!

[Marion]

Kenneth wrote: "Marion, I think your Pirate Freedom review is fair. It's definitely not Wolfe's most complex work. There is a twist to the seemingly linear narrative though, involving a bit of accidental time trav..."

Thanks Kenneth!

[Trike]

Ruth wrote: "John (Taloni) wrote: "I just want to know what it's all aboot! :)"

I'm not so familiar with the Canadian accent, but whenever I hear this impression, it always sounds Scottish!"

That's because a lot of Canadians were originally from Scotland, and many of their earliest influential folks definitely were.

Years ago I saw a PBS show on dialects which noted that ordinary folks tend to take their pronunciation cues from their leaders. The current British accent, for instance, is actually younger than America and can be traced back to the royal family about 200 years ago.

We get a lot of Canadian TV shows here (as well as regular series filmed in Canada, which can be hilarious -- sorry, Mr. Bit Actor, a sheriff in Missouri would not pronounce it "oot") and the word that drives me crazy is "house." It almost -- but not quite! -- sounds like "moose". More like "hoes" and "moose" mashed together.

[Phil]

Ruth wrote: "Well, gosh darn it, now I need to know how you pronounce 'one' in Canada!"

the same as won.

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

Oooooh, those sound so close anyway though, right?

Trike, Canadians I've heard never sound remotely Scottish, though, but Americans doing impressions of Canadians do. It's very odd.

And re. the British accent: I guess that depends what accent you are referring to. I very much doubt that the accent I grew up with int' north had ought to do wit' royal family.

[Todd]

I love the Rivers of London series. Such as Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch.

The audio versions with Kobna Holdbrook-Smith are amazing to Listen to and really bring the main character to life.

[D.L.]

Todd wrote: "I love the Rivers of London series. Such as Broken Homes by Ben Aaronovitch.

The audio versions with Kobna Holdbrook-Smith are amazing to Listen t..."

Oddly, I just (I mean like 10 minutes ago) finished reading the 5th book in the series, Foxglove Summer. I've enjoyed each and every one of them. This one, I noticed happily, is dedicated to Terry Pratchett.

[John (Taloni)]

Ruth wrote: "And re. the British accent: I guess that depends what accent you are referring to. I very much doubt that the accent I grew up with int' north had ought to do wit' royal family. "

My wife has been watching Broadchurch and says that Tennant's accent in it is next to incomprehensible. Turning on subtitles was optional during his Doctor Who run, but absolutely necessary for Broadchurch.

[Todd]

D.L. wrote: Oddly, I just (I mean like 10 minutes ago) finished reading the 5th book in the series, Foxglove Summer. I've enjoyed each and every one of them. This one, I noticed happily, is dedicated to Terry Pratchett."

That reminds me the Tiffany Aching series of audiobooks. Are brilliant. The Wee Free Men is a crack up.

[Trike]

Ruth wrote: "Oooooh, those sound so close anyway though, right?

Trike, Canadians I've heard never sound remotely Scottish, though, but Americans doing impressions of Canadians do. It's very odd.

And re. the British accent: I guess that depends what accent you are referring to. I very much doubt that the accent I grew up with int' north had ought to do wit' royal family. "

I read a book by a linguist some years ago and my favorite story was about a couple guys about 500 years ago who decided to float down the Thames to see what they could see. Eventually they encountered people they couldn't understand.

They were about 15 miles from home and both groups were speaking English.

But yeah, despite the enormous variations in dialect in England, apparently most of them are less than 200 years old.

Philadelphia on the PBS show was an interesting case because the dialect has shifted so rapidly. Successive generations of leaders came from entirely different groups of people, and since a lot of dialect influencing is top-down (meaning the populace imitates the community leaders), the dialect in the city has changed from Southern influenced to Northern influenced just in the past few decades.

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

John (Taloni) wrote: "My wife has been watching Broadchurch and says that Tennant's accent in it is next to incomprehensible. Turning on subtitles was optional during his Doctor Who run, but absolutely necessary for Broadchurch. "

OMG I LOVE Broadchurch! Such a good series! Haha, and yeah, Tennant keeps his natural Scottish accent for that one, rather than dropping it like he did in Doctor Who. And since this is on topic with this whole derailment of the topic, this scene in Doctor Who in which the doctor 'fakes' a Scottish accent greatly amused me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCkVW...

Ha, and the YouTube comments compare Scottish with Canadian, so there we are coming full circle!

Trike, growing up I could instantly tell the difference between people from my village and people from the town just over the hill (literally just 10 minutes drive away) by accent/dialect alone.

Oh, and sorry for this total derailment of the main thread, but I just cannot resist a conversation about accents, it seems. I guess they fascinate me. :)

[Phil On The Hill]

....back to series then.

I have a soft spot for E.C. Tubb's Earl Dumarest novels.

Chap searching for Earth with suitable baddies seeking to remove him.

Quite well written, but with 30+ books a bit repetitive, but the books are short (by today's standards).

Phil

[Trike]

Ruth wrote: "Trike, growing up I could instantly tell the difference between people from my village and people from the town just over the hill (literally just 10 minutes drive away) by accent/dialect alone.

Oh, and sorry for this total derailment of the main thread, but I just cannot resist a conversation about accents, it seems. I guess they fascinate me. :) "

I think most big cities have specific neighborhood accents, too. My dad and one of his neighbors are originally from Brooklyn and they met a guy who identified their neighborhoods within a minute of meeting them. That to me was an amazing feat, because they grew up about six blocks apart, one in Williamsburg, the other in Bed-Stuy. But north of Broadway and south of Broadway might as well be different worlds if you have the ear for it.

East Enders is probably the most famous work for that specific detail, but there was a terrific bit on the short-lived TV series Threshold where Peter Dinklage's linguist character figures out a guy is from southern Ohio by the way he talks -- and while I was watching it I remarked, "Hey, that guy talks like the neighbor!" It stood out to me because very few writers actually use the Dayton-Cincinnati-Frankfort dialect in scripts, but the actor has a distinct New York accent.

Oh, cool, I found the scene. It should start at 2:08.

[Kristina]

I have to admit enjoying quite a few YA/ Middle grade books of late...

It started with Mortal Instruments.. which led to The Infernal Devices and spilled over into The Iron Trial, The Rithmatist, and the Reckoners series.

Now I'm reading The Grisha series (Shadow and Bone)... and it's sooo cookie cutter YA. Unassuming girl discovers she has super special magic powers and she has to stop the super powerful evil goodlooking bad guy and save the land, while not alienating her hot but normal childhood best friend.... OMG I can't put them down! I just love the characters and the world and the magic... Atleast I'll have things to recommend to the kids at the upcoming bookfair :D

[Nokomis.FL]

Marion wrote: "I have become an unabashed fan of the Retrieval Artist Series by Kristine Kathryn Rusch. Starting with The Disappeared and up to Blowback have been a r..."

Never got into that series, but Rusch's 'Diving Uninverse' series was a favorite.

My current ongoing favorite series is Ryk Brown's 'Frontiers Saga.' Book 13 is eagerly awaited.

[Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth]

Trike wrote: "I think most big cities have specific neighborhood accents, too. My dad and one of his neighbors are originally from Brooklyn and they met a guy who identified their neighborhoods within a minute of meeting them"

Cool. A few of my American friends said they didn't notice much accent change over large distances, but they don't live in cities, so maybe that is the difference. Lots of empty space in the states. :)

Trike wrote: "
East Enders is probably the most famous work for that specific detail"

...EastEnders the soap??? No, surely you are referring to something else.

Trike wrote: "there was a terrific bit on the short-lived TV series Threshold where Peter Dinklage's linguist character figures out a guy is from southern Ohio by the way he talks -- and while I was watching it I remarked, "Hey, that guy talks like the neighbor!" It stood out to me because very few writers actually use the Dayton-Cincinnati-Frankfort dialect in scripts, but the actor has a distinct New York accent."

I am loving you for this reference, if only because I really really liked that show. It had flaws, but was very enjoyable, and Dinklage was, of course, awesome.

Also, no wonder I find it hard to work out where accents are from in the States if they pull tricks like that one!

[Trike]

Ruth wrote: "Trike wrote: "
East Enders is probably the most famous work for that specific detail"

...EastEnders the soap??? No, surely you are referring to something else."

I just mean that it's famous for featuring the accents, not that they necessarily are accurate or anything. Like how Good Will Hunting is famous partially for using the Boston "Southie" accent to good effect, although people are divided on Robin Williams' version. Personally, I think he sounds exactly like a friend of mine, who is originally from Southie and now lives in New Hampshire, so her accent has softened a bit but still comes out now and then when she says certain words. ("That was a wicked good frostie.")

Ruth wrote: "Cool. A few of my American friends said they didn't notice much accent change over large distances, but they don't live in cities, so maybe that is the difference. Lots of empty space in the states. :)"

Americans are also fairly mobile nowadays, so everyone's accent influences everyone else. It depends on where you are, though. Maine isn't that far from Boston, but you can notice a distinct difference. Manhattan and Long Island might as well be 100 miles apart inside of 1, given how different those accents are. But Tulsa, Oklahoma, is a good five hundred miles from Houston, and it's often difficult to hear the difference unless you're out on the range with the working class guys. Even then, few of them have that twang people associate with the cowboy. Most of the upper-middle class of both cities are influenced by accents from other places, since so many people have migrated from elsewhere.

Houston in particular is interesting because so many people from Ohio settled there, so a lot of folks sound exactly like Ohioans except they throw in a "y'all" and "sunty" (sun tea) every now and again.

One of the funniest (and dumbest) movie criticisms I've heard in a long time was of How to Train Your Dragon where someone said the "Scottish accents sound fake." Apparently the guy didn't realize those accents are authentic, used by actual actors from Scotland. Gerard Butler, Craig Ferguson, David Tennant? Dude.

[Dwayne]

Lawrence wrote: "I love John Scalzi's Old Man's War series"

Yeah I'm really digging the Old Man's War series. Just finished Ghost Brigades and I'm diving into The Last Colony.

I also really enjoy the Expanse Series although I still haven't gotten Cibola Burn or any of the shorts.

[Dara]

Robin Hobb's Liveship Traders series. I finished the last book yesterday and have serious book hangover. The characters all had such depth and felt so real. It's going to stick with me forever.

[Joanna Chaplin]

Dwayne wrote: "Lawrence wrote: "I love John Scalzi's Old Man's War series"

Yeah I'm really digging the Old Man's War series. Just finished Ghost Brigades and I'm diving into The Last Colony."

I enjoyed Old Man's War, but I really really liked The Ghost Brigades, which really made me think about the nature of consciousness.

[Valerie]

I have no problem going on record as a total fangirl of the following:

Brandon Sanderson: The Stormlight Archive
Brandon Sanderson: Mistborn
Brandon Sanderson: Alloy Era
Jim Butcher: The Dresden Files
Jim Butcher: Codex Alera
Chuck Wendig: Miriam Black
Seanan McGuire: October Daye
James S.A. Corey: The Expanse
Ilona Andrews: Kate Daniels
Scott Snyder: Batman (New 52)
Anne Bishop: The Others
Gail Carriger: The Parasol Protectorate
Brent Weeks: Lightbringer
Jeph Loeb: Batman Hush
Brian K. Vaughn: Saga

[Trike]

Have you met a series you DIDN'T like?

[Valerie]

Many, actually.